Vietnam a Fairly New Holiday Destination. Go before the Masses

One Pillar Pagoda Hanoi.

The one Pillar Pagoda can be found in Hanoi not too far away from Ho Chi Minhs Mausoleum.

Emperor Ly who ruled Vietnam from 1028 to 1054 had this Small temple built in the middle of a lotus pond. Apparently as legend goes he did not have children and used to go to a temple everyday to pray for the birth of a child. He met a peasant girl and married her. One night the Emperor had a dream of a lotus pond and in the dream he saw a small pagoda in the shape of a lotus.

He was told by a monk that he must build this temple when his wife gave birth.

Several months later his wife gave birth and in 1049 he built the temple which is still standing today.

The temple is on a single pillar of stone and is made of wood. It measures about one and a half metres in diameter. The roof is shaped so as to look like a lotus in bloom.
It was renovated in 1105 and a large bell was cast to place inside it but the bell was too large so it was removed and sent out into the country side. The emperor used to hold a ceremony every year where all the monks would gather and the Emperor would bath the Buddha. The emperor would then release a bird which the pilgrims would try to follow.

It was destroyed by French forces when they withdrew from the city in 1954 and has been rebuilt again to its former glory in 1955 as a replica of the original one Pillar pagoda. The stone on which it is placed now is in fact concrete so it is not perhaps as beautiful as it once was.

It is so sad to think that many religious and historical buildings and monuments were damaged by invading forces and particularly cruel when they are religious buildings and so very disrespectful. Throughout Vietnam buildings that were hundreds and thousands of years old were destroyed by bombing or sheer vandalism.

The one pillar pagoda is quite beautiful to look at and it is not too far from the Presidential palace and Ho Chi Minhs wooden house. It is worth going to see when in the area.

Hoa Lo Prison Hanoi.

Hoa Lo prison otherwise known as The Hanoi Hilton was a prison built by the French in 1886 to house political prisoners during their occupation of Vietnam. Often they were tortured and executed there within the grounds of the prison.
The prison is quite small initially holding around 400 prisoners it was expanded in 1913 to hold 600 but actually in reality it packed in more normally anywhere between 700 to 895 prisoners in 1916 however it was topped during the 2nd World War by holding 2000 prisoners both international and ethnic prisoners especially South Vietnamese.

Prisoners were held either in solitary confinement or in dormitories where they would be shackled together on a raised platform bed which sloped downwards at the foot. Diseases such as dysentery and Malaria were rife among the prisoners along with little medical attention given if at all.

The American prisoners of war were held in a separate wing and kept apart from the other prison population. The first American Prisoner of war was an airman called Everett Alverez.. Many prisoners died before the Vietnamese were able to execute them either through torture or illnesses. The Vietnamese denied any torture took place citing the American prisoners themselves have knick named it the Hanoi Hilton as the accommodation is as comfortable as a hotel. They were not granted any civil rights as deemed a requirement of the Geneva convention but Vietnam had never signed up to it they claimed it didn’t apply to them.

The ways they tortured the prisoners were numerous. Sleep deprivation, beatings water torture, whipping and slapping, bones broken and teeth knocked out. The Vietnamese were trying to get the prisoners to make statements saying they were being well treated and that the American invasion was wrong, Food was in short supply and what food they were given was often contaminated with faeces both animal and human, Methods of execution included the guillotine which was used in the prison and is still there preserved to this day, Of course the guillotine was the most favoured method of execution by the French and was mainly used on Vietnamese prisoners. Both men and women were held in the prison but were segregated.


The prison is situated in the centre of Hanoi and prisoners were able to call out to passing people sometimes food or drugs were thrown over the walls for the inmates but as you can imagine penalty’s were harsh even leading to imprisonment and execution. There are new modern tall buildings surrounding and towering over what little remains of it. Most of the prison was demolished to make way for these buildings including a new Hotel. What little part is left has been preserved as a museum. The Vietnamese do however still insist that they treated the prisoners well and there are pictures of prisoners there showing the prisoners playing pool. However there were several prisoners who following their release told a completely different story. A film has been made of the Hanoi Hilton in fact the hotel chain did build a Hotel in Hanoi eventually but named it after the opera house.

Along the back wall of the prison there is a relief carved into the walls to those who lost their lives in the prison there has also been a film made about the conditions in the Hanoi Hilton,

It is quite interesting a place to visit.

Thien Mu Pagoda & Buddhist temple, Hue.

We were driven to the small compound near to the temple then got off the bus where we were immediately surrounded by people trying to sell the wares. A firm no and avoiding eye contact is all that is required for them to get the message. If they manage to get eye contact that is the first mistake you will ever make and they are halfway there to making a quick sale.
There is a slight incline to reach the temple grounds and then a flight of about 50 – 60 quite steep steps.

As you reach the top of the steps right in front of you is the magnificent 7 tiered Pagoda built in 1601 which is a stunning site and can be seen for miles around. Walking around the back of the pagoda there are two small roofed open aired buildings housing a massive drum and a massive bell. Visitors are encouraged to ring these and bang the drum by pulling back on a large log tied to a rope and then letting it go so that it lets out a loud thud or ring when it hits the side of the drum or bell.


After these buildings there is the monks living quarters and there is the car that belonged to Thích Quảng Đức who committed suicide by driving the car to the middle of Saigon outside the Cambodian Embassy stopping the car getting out placing a cushion on the floor which he then sat on adopting the lotus position. Some other monks began pouring petrol over him he lit a match and dropped it into his lap. For ten minutes he burnt before his skin shrivelled and twisted in the heat toppled forward and the fire went out. He did this in protest at the country’s behaviour and treatment towards the Buddhists. It was caught on camera and mailed across the world and made headline news. Several other monks also did the same following this until the government were forced by international pressure to treat Buddhists the same as anyone else. His body was stored in the monastry and cremated but his heart remained intact and did not burn. It was held as a holy relic along with his ashes. The government soldiers tried to seize his ashes but fortunately two monks took his urn and hid it.

Behind this are is the temple with several statues of Buddha surrounded by landscaped gardens. The atmosphere is very peaceful and relaxing. It is quiet and a place for contemplation.

The temple and Pagoda are on top of a hill which over looks the perfumed river. Although it is called the perfumed river it certainly is not. It is the romanticised name of the river.


It is a lovely place to visit and a must see on anyone’s Itinerary if visiting Hue.

Hue.

Hue was the old Capital city of Vietnam more or less half way down the coast in the central area of Vietnam. It is a beautiful ancient city that is delightful to visit and used to be the imperial capital of Vietnam. The Emperor palace was here which was similar in some respects to the palace in Beijing. Hue is quite an ancient fishing town beside the Perfumed River. There are many historical buildings around the town and some very old traditional Vietnamese houses and temples. The perfumed river runs through the city


The Emporers Palace and the Citadel.

The Citadel is a massive fortified fort which had huge cannons on the walls for protection of the Emperor and the imperial palace. Approaching the Citadel the road is a bit narrow and the traffic is a bit mental. There are of course hawkers trying to sell you water, cokes and various nick nacks in the road. Crossing over a tiny bridge you come to a gateway that will take you into the Citadels grounds. There is a vast courtyard which stretches for ages and on the opposite side there is the palace proper. The surrounding walls of the citadel are very high and the wall is very thick. There is a gigantic red flag with its golden star of Vietnam flapping elegantly and defiantly in the slight breeze.

On the right hand side of the parade ground as you first enter through the archway there are toilet facilities and a gift shop. There is also on display different canons that were used to protect the Citadel in days gone past. Two of the canons were absolutely huge.

Crossing the vast paraded ground you reach the palace proper which is within another vast square shaped walled court. Crossing over one of the three moat bridges you enter the inner courtyard over another bridge where there are hundreds of golden Koi Carp waiting to be fed. They look quite beautiful all vying for the pieces of food being dropped over the walls of the bridge. The palace is straight ahead of you.

The palace is quite beautiful and looks Chinese in design. The palace is where the Emperor would live and the concubines would have lived in the quarters behind the main palace building. In the courtyard in front of the palace there are massive brass urns 9 in all. Inside the palace there is a long corridor type room which runs the length of the building containing paintings of all the previous Emperors. The last Emperor of Vietnam was only a puppet Emperor left as a figure head by the French invaders then the Japanese invaders during the Second World War. At the end of world war two the Emperor was forced to abdicate as emperor due to the communists who seized power.

The palace was quite seriously damaged by bombs and artillery fire during World War 2 and subsequently by the communists and later the American invading forces.
The communists massacred many people in Hue including people who were said to have collaborated with the Americans and Japanese. Even American prisoners of war were massacred. University dons were murdered along with European professors and their families as the Communists did not want any intellectuals in positions to cause insurrection. Those who were forced to work for the invaders as interpreters were also murdered and anyone who they thought would recognise them was executed. There were many kangaroo courts which passed the death sentence in less than five minute trials. Thousands of people lost their lives in senseless murders.

Within the palace grounds there are temples and accommodation for the royal entourage, workers and eunuchs. There are beautiful gardens and little temples and colourful gateways. It is quite pretty but nowhere near as beautiful as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Who was Ho Chi Mein?


Ho Chi Minh was born in 1890 and originally named Nguyen Sinh Cung and at 10 years old his father renamed him Nguyen Tat Thanh in line with confusion tradition. In 1911 he left Vietnam for France and applied to become a student but he was rejected so became a waiter and cleaner. Any spare time he had was spent studying in the libraries in Paris. In 1912 he left France and headed for New York and spent a year there after which he moved to England and lived for several years here up to 1919.

From 1919 he then moved to France where he became involved in Communism and was a founding member of the French communist party. He then spent many years in Moscow China and other countries. He tried to persuade the Vietnamese Emperor to abdicate which he eventually did in 1945 there after he declared himself the leader of the Democratic republic of Vietnam. The Chinese soldiers who were fighting in the north finally left then Ho Chi Minh began fighting against the French eventually trying to call a truce and the withdrawal of France from Vietnam.

In 1954 after the Geneva accords Ho Chi Minh was able to set up a government and became President of Vietnam. He moved the capital from Saigon to Hanoi thereby causing a split in the country with the North being communist held and the South being led by President Ngo Dinh Diem. There was mass migration of people from the north heading south. Farmers where tortured and executed by the communists during the land reformation some people were not permitted to head south and were kept in the North.

Ho insisted that a war continued to reunite the country as a whole. The South received the support from the USA following the withdrawal of the French and started to land troops due to the high presence of Ho tried to negotiate a truce but it never came and because of the continued fighting the Americans were drawn into a long and nasty war against the North Vietnamese trying to protect the south from further invasion.


Ho Chi Minh was based in Hanoi and although he could have lived in the Presidential palace he chose to live in a traditional wooden house built on wooden stilts within the grounds of the Palace. There are two upstairs rooms one being a study and the other his bedroom. On the ground floor there was a conference room. Ho Chi Minh died here in this house on September 2nd 1969 in his bed of heart failure. It was 48 hours before his death was announced as they did not want to announce it on the anniversary of the founding of democratic republic of Vietnam. No one was named as his successor so the country was ruled by members of the army and politburo.


Ho Chi Minh’s memorial is based in the centre of Hanoi at the place where he read the decloration of independence in Ba Dinh Square in 1945. Work began on the construction in 1973 and was finished in 1975. The mausoleum is based on the Mausoleum of Lenin in Moscow. It is made of grey granite, and the inside is grey black and red polished stone. On top of the plinth at the top of the building are the words CHU TICH HO CHI MINH Translated as President Ho Chi Minh.

The building is 21.6 metres high and 41.2 metres wide with viewing platforms on either side of seven steps for watching parades. There is a massive plaza in front of the building and a road way.

Ho had left instructions in his will for his body to be cremated and his ashes scattered in the North, in the central hills and in South Vietnam but the government preserved his body which is on display in the mausoleum which is open daily from 09:00 AM to Noon. There is a military guard of honour with the soldiers dressed all in pristine white uniforms. And there are queues of people lining up to pay their respects to him at the mausoleum. He is lying in a glass case in the middle of the Mausoleum. There are very strict rules which have to be adhered to when visiting the mausoleum being no talking, no photographs or videotaping no mini skirts or shorts and you have to walk in pairs into and out of the mausoleum. Before you enter the museum you have to check your camera or video equipment in for safe keeping you are not allowed to take them in with you.

Walking into the mausoleum you can see quite Clearly Ho Chi minh in his glass coffin and it looks just like he is asleep. Although it is lit up inside the mausoleum it is still quite dark and somber. The guards are very strict when you enter the mausoleum and you are only in there for about a minute and certainly no longer than two minutes at the most. If you linger for too long the guards will push you along and I mean push no gentleness here I am afraid. They are also very strict about your hands they must be by your sides at all times. I saw some chap fold his arms and he was quickly shouted at by one of the guards. Fortunately the queue for us was short we were in and out within about 20 minutes. 18-19 minutes of queuing and 1-2 minutes from entering to exiting the mausoleum.

Behind the mausoleum there is a beautiful park and the walkway to the Mausoleum is very pleasantly lined with shrubs and box hedging. Admission to the mausoleum is free to everyone.

Would I recommend a visit? I would but only if you are in the area.

He is regarded as and called Uncle Ho by the people of Vietnam although many people regard him with hatred for sustaining such a long war. However up to the ending of the most recent Great War in 1975 Vietnam had been at war with some nation or another for 116 years.


The Vietnamese finally took control of Saigon in 1975 and the name of the city was changed in honour of Ho and is now officially known as Ho Chi Minh City.

Halong Bay.

Halong bay is situated just off the coast North East of Hanoi in the gulf of Tonkin. It took us about three and a half hours to drive there from Hanoi for a day trip but there are different trips you can do including sleeping on a boat for a couple of days if you wish. Our day trip cost approximately $50 a head including luxury coach from Hanoi passing small villages and paddy fields stopping en route for refreshment and toilet stops. We were on the boat for about five hours including a cooked seafood lunch meal or a meat based meal it was up to you to choose which you preferred. Drinks were available for an extra cost. We then returned to Halong where the coach was waiting to take us back to Hanoi. It was well worth the trip for the views and the experience.

Halong bay means Dragon bay named so because according to legend the dragons were sent by the Gods to help fight ward of Chinese invaders. The dragons spat out Jewels which turned into the little islets and Islands that are dotting the bay. There are in total 2000 such islets. An area of 775 islets has been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO. The rock formations are made of limestone and have been around for 5000 million years.

If you think of James bond film with the Massive rock formations from Phang Nga bay in Thailand well this is much bigger.

The water is crystal clear and it is here in the bay prior to lunch that the captain dropped anchor and we took the opportunity of having a swim in the South China Sea. The water was pleasantly warm and certainly inviting although this is not always the case.

The islets have some thick jungle on the top of some of the islets and there are 4 water gypsy villages based around some of the islets nearer to shore. You can take the boats out to the islands for a tour which involves passing one of the gypsy water villages built on stilts around the base of the islets then out to one of the bays for swimming in the crystal clear waters. There are 300 species of fish that live within the bay and on some of the islets are inhabited by birds, monkeys, chickens antelopes and lizards.

There are caves you can visit by using a canoe and some of the larger islands there are lakes inside them. However tourism has upset the fine balance here due to dropped litter, discarded wine bottle beer tins as well. Some of the caves have been widened to allow the canoes to enter and some tourists have broken off stalactites’ and stalagmites as souvenirs. Carbon dioxide exhaled on the breath of tourists has had an affect on the inside of the caves.

If visiting the bay I would be very wary about checking the weather forecast as mists suddenly descend without warning and storms brew up unexpectedly and there are sometimes deaths due to this. You should also ensure that your boat is sea worthy and wear the life jackets provided.

The day we went there all of a sudden a mist descended which obscured some of the islets but we were enjoying the views so much It didn’t mar our experience although of course it would have been better if it had stayed clear the whole time we were there. About two days after we had visited the bay a massive storm brewed up and 60 people lost their lives in the bay and also recently a couple of weeks ago another boat capsized resulting of the death of two French tourists.


Would I recommend a tour here?

Yes absolutely, yes for the point of view of providing much needed cash to the local economy and also the experience you are going to gain from seeing the fishing villages, the remarkable caves and rock formations. It is definitely a highlight attraction in Vietnam.

Hanoi. Vietnam.


Hanoi the capital city of Vietnam is found in the Northern region of the country. It has been the capital city on and off over the past 3000 years when Hanoi was first settled by man. Over the years Vietnam has been invaded by other countries namely the Chinese, the French and the Americans.

Vietnam is a communist country and was fully financed by the Russians during the cold war period but now receives very little financial aid from Russia. The south of the country remained democratic until the Vietnamese north decided to invade the south thereby bringing the wrath of America down on the country to protect the south from being taken over completely by the Vietnamese communists. Most people certainly from my generation will know of the terrible Vietnamese war with the Americans where many people lost their lives both the Americans and the Vietnamese.

Hanoi is a very big city with a population of over 6 million people living and working in it. Living conditions are quite poor for the families and many people live in poverty. Most of the city dwellers do not have room for a kitchen and tend to eat breakfast and dinner in the many pavement cafés squatting down on small plastic chairs or stools. Most of the shopkeepers live in the back of the shops and the front being the actual shop cooking and living if and where possible. Conditions are quite cramped.

From about 7am in the morning news is read out and broadcast over the blaring tannoys around the city this acts as an alarm clock and also news is read out to keep people informed of current events. The city comes alive with Millions and I mean Millions of motor bikes transporting people to their places of work.

I have never ever seen so many motorbikes in my whole life and I have probably seen more in those few days in Vietnam than I am ever likely to see for the rest of my life as well. It is a cheap mode of transport and you will often see bikes used to transport furniture, fridges and freezers, livestock and whole families on the bike even up to four or five people. The largest piece of furniture I witnessed on the back of a motorbike was a wardrobe.

You see ladies walking around with yokes on their shoulders carefully balancing whatever they have to sell from fruit to basic plastic goods. They can always be seen out and about selling things to make a living. They are usually very heavily laden with things to sell. Funnily enough you don’t see many men doing this or infact in the country side it always seem to be women working on the land.

The rule of thumb is that if there are any accidents involving the motorbikes it depends on who hit who. If a man hit a woman it would automatically be the mans fault. If a car hit a bike it would always be the car drivers fault irrespective of whose fault it really was. There are traffic lights and crossings and we were told that once you start to cross the road never hesitate or slow down. Just walk at your normal pace concentrating on reaching the other side of the road. The bike drivers will assess your rate of speed and avoid hitting you by swerving round you.

Over the years Hanoi had been bombed many times and lots of the buildings were destroyed. The architecture is quite French in appearance and they left legacies built in the French style including the opera house, the Presidential palace and the main central bank.

Places of interest include:

The mausoleum of Ho Chi Mein.
The temple of literature.
The Presidential Palace and Ho Chi Mein’s house.
The one pillar pagoda.
The water puppets.
The Hanoi Hilton. ( Hao Lo Prison now a museum).
Museum of Vietnamese revolution.
Museum of Vietnamese Women
History Museum.
The local markets.

How to get there:

Various airlines fly to Hanoi but none directly from the UK.
We flew with Thai international airlines to Bangkok before onward travel to Hanoi.
Vietnam airways fly from Paris directly to Hanoi.
Air China via Beijing.

Getting around is fairly easy as Hanoi city is fairly compact if you are staying in Hanoi and there are plenty of rickshaws available and taxi’s are quite cheap. $1-5 a trip but you should only use reputable taxis recommended by your hotel.

There are a couple of stations in Hanoi one serving the North and East and another serving the South to HCMC. The HCMC is a single track line so only one train at a time can travel and it takes approximately 30 hours from Hanoi to HCMC. Plans are afoot to improve the railway system to a high speed rail link between the two major cities but don’t hold your breath. There are also plans to improve rail links to Bangkok and Cambodia from Hanoi.

Hotels are ten a penny and it is very cheap to find accommodation to suit every budget. It is possible to book directly with the hotel.

The currency is the Vietnamese Dong but it is useful to carry dollars with you as they are always very welcome. Try to take low denomination dollars of $1 and $5 but be very careful and your wits about you as the Vietnamese are very adept at relieving you of your cash without you realising it.

Hanoi is quite a beautiful city much more so than Ho Chi Mein city.(HCMC) otherwise known as Saigon.

The good points about Vietnam is that the bread is wonderful a left over from the French occupation also their coffee is absolutely divine Vietnam being a major player in coffee production. However do be careful if buying coffee because you may end up being sold inferior coffee if buying to take home with you.

Would I recommend a visit to Hanoi? Well I would not recommend it as a destination in itself but it is a good stopping off point for a few days before moving on to somewhere else. It is worth having a look around though especially to the above mentioned places. It is a good start to a tour of Vietnam before moving south so that you are gradually acclimatised before reaching the Southern part of the country.

Vietnam is an up and coming country for tourism and it would be worth to visit sooner rather than later when tourism has spoilt it. The Vietnamese are very kind people but they are very poor. They are trying very hard to encourage people to visit for example in the hotels they are trying to make your stay very comfortable there may be tea and coffee facilities in the room either minus a kettle or you may have a kettle but no cups or there may be kettles and cups but no tea or coffee or kettles cups tea and coffee but no spoons.

I remember in one hotel we ordered a bottle of Champagne which caused quite a stir amongst the staff as they had never seen anyone order champagne before so there was an audience of waiters and managers watching the poor waiter open the bottle. NO POP but they insisted it was ok. When the champagne was poured from the bottle it was as flat as a pancake. They were so apologetic when we explained that it was no good they offered to open another but it seems that all the bottles were useless and they had had it hanging around for years.


This is the start of a series of reviews on Vietnam.